Tuesday, September 13, 2016

Vineyards in Thailand

About 20 years ago Thailand took to wine producing with its characteristic defiance of international norms, rejecting the age-old traditions that say wine grapes can't be grown further south than Cairo or Lhasa. Breaking those rules, vineyards across Thailand's three distinguished winemaking regions now produce quality wine 1,770 kilometers further south than old school thinking dictates.

For a more comprehensive look at Siam Winery, click here. And for an inspiring look at a wine tasting at a wheelchair-friendly bistro at the Hua Hin Vineyards (Thailand), go here. If this man's pursuit of living does not move you and motivate you to overcome your own circumstances, perhaps it's time to check your pulse. When you finish with these winery videos, I'd encourage you to go to his YouTube channel just to see how he - and he's a foreigner there - enjoys beaches in Thailand, and how he maneuvers his wheelchair in markets, and around the city of Bangkok and at tourist sights all around the country.

Without question, getting out of your little town (like Headland, AL) or out of your big city (like NewYork) and going to new and different places exposes you to a broader range of ideas and ways of living that you can incorporate into your own life, and into your own community, when you return back to it. I think of the Asheville family that owns several properties downtown. One huge benefit the city has received is that members of this family live in Vancouver, BC (Canada) part of the year, and they have been active in enlivening Asheville's downtown with concepts they see working in Vancouver. Anyone who knows Vancouver, knows that besides being considered the most beautiful city in all of North America, it has a vibe and quality of life that wows people. I don't think it's a coincidence that Asheville, a city with a downtown that just thirty years ago was bleak in many respects, has experienced an incredible renaissance. This family has played a big part, as have other visionaries who saw great potential here and made things happen. So when I see the vineyards in Thailand, I wonder what more Asheville can learn from this, and I wonder what Headland (my hometown) and Alabama can learn from this. And if we're not able to dream big like this and we're not able to act on those dreams, what are the roadblocks?